A prominent Sunni Arab group charged Friday that some officials in the Iraqi government have links with Shiite militias involved in sectarian violence and said authorities should be held responsible for any attacks by the armed groups. The Iraqi government said the group's claims were false and could incite rebellion. A Sunni clerical group, the Association of Muslim Scholars, said it had obtained information that militias were planning to attack neighborhoods in Baghdad, in line with bloody assaults this year pitting members of Iraq's majority Shiites against Sunni Arabs who dominated the country under Saddam Hussein. "We also have come to know that some officials in this government know of this criminal scheme, which raises suspicions that they are collaborating with these militias," the association said. ... http://www.cbsnews.com

A Colombian ex-minister held hostage for more than six years by left-wing guerrillas has escaped after a military operation to secure his release. A number of rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are said to have been killed. Fernando Araujo was one of 59 high profile hostages held by the Farc as potential bargaining chips for a prisoner exchange with the government. He is on his way to be reunited with his family in the city of Cartagena. The former development minister escaped from a rebel camp in the north of the country as Farc rebels battled troops, Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said. Mr Araujo, he added, was in good health, and the offensive in a rural part of the department of Bolivar was continuing. The last time Mr Araujo's family had heard he was alive was in December 2005, when the Farc released a video in which he called on the government to agree to a prisoner exchange....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6235475.stm

The body of an Associated Press employee was found shot in the back of the head Friday, six days after he was last seen by his family leaving for work. Ahmed Hadi Naji, 28, was the fourth AP staffer to die violently in the Iraq war and the second AP employee killed in less than a month. He had been a messenger and occasional cameraman for the AP for 2 1/2 years."All of us at AP share the pain and grief being felt by Ahmed's family and friends," said AP President and CEO Tom Curley. "The situation for our journalists in Iraq is unprecedented in AP's 161-year history of covering wars and conflicts. The courage of our Iraqi colleagues and their dedication to the story stand as an example to the world of journalism's enduring value."The circumstances of Naji's death were unclear. Dozens of Iraqis are found slain almost every day in Baghdad, many believed victims of sectarian death squads....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-01-05-iraqi-ap_x.htm?csp=34

The Polish Catholic Church said on Friday the archbishop of Warsaw, appointed last month by Pope Benedict, had spied for the communist-era secret services.The Pontiff named Bishop Stanislaw Wielgus on December 6 to succeed anti-communist Cardinal Jozef Glemp in one of the most influential positions in Poland's Church hierarchy. Soon after, Polish media reported that Wielgus informed on fellow clerics to the communist secret services for around 20 years, starting in the late 1960s. Wielgus has repeatedly denied the allegations. A special Church commission said in a statement there was sufficient evidence to confirm he was a willing informer. "There are plenty of important documents which confirm Wielgus' willingness for ... cooperation," the commission said. "The documents ... show some opinions of intelligence service officials that suggested that the actions of Stanislaw Wielgus (in the city were he lived) could have done harm to people from Church circles."...http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/05/poland.bishop.reut/index.html?eref=rss_world

Some key Senate Democrats say they could consider supporting a short-term increase in American troop levels in Iraq, a stance that reflects division within the party and could provide an opening for President Bush as he prepares to announce his revised plan for Iraq as early as next week. Mr. Bush is expected to outline a strategy that would include adding to American forces, but would link that increase to a plan for economic development in Iraq. He has vowed to consult Congressional leaders before delivering his speech to the nation, and he began that process on Wednesday night by inviting House and Senate leaders to a White House reception, though officials said Iraq was not discussed. Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who will lead the Armed Services Committee, said he would not "prejudge" the president's proposal. While he would oppose an open-ended commitment, Mr. Levin said, he would not rule out supporting a plan to dispatch more troops ...http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,457957,00.html

Pol Pot and his minions committed mass murder against their own people. Now, an international tribunal is to judge the regime -- what some people call the first legal reckoning with communism. Can justice be served, 30 years on? Memories plague farmer Nhem Sal, 50, even in his sleep. He feels the pain in his ankles and wrists, as if his teenaged Khmer Rouge warden were still tying him to the bare metal bed on the third floor of Block A, in the infamous torture prison Tuol Sleng. The camp was called "S-21" -- and it was the center of terror in Pol Pot's regime. More than 30 years have passed since then. Nhem Sal feeds his family with rice he grows himself. He is about 1.70 meters tall, has a thinning lock of hair over his forehead, and his hands are covered with calluses. His straw hut is in the province of Takeo, some 60 kilometers south of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. A year ago, authorities came to his yard and ...http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,457806,00.html